How to Play Ball

My dog, Winston, is really smart! I know it’s one of those things you say about your kid until you realize you are just biased. Kids are just amazing and they fool you into thinking they are geniuses. If you are bamboozled very long, you will awaken to reality when they become teenagers and you use the words “bonehead” and “idiot” more than ever imagined you would. When I say my dog is smart, what I really mean is he is like an above-average toddler. I love him, but he still drinks out of the toilet doesn’t know that grapes will hurt him. He still runs into things and gets scared when it thunders, but wants to chase loud pickups.

He is good at fetch though. He snatches tennis balls out of the air like a beast and chases the ball down with intense excitement and vigor. Even on the hard wood floors he is able to calculate the slide ratio and still retrieve the ball without wasting a single motion. The only part of the process he can’t grasp is the dropping of the ball so I can throw it again. He gets about an inch from my hand and then pulls back. He seems to be calculating something in his head like “If I give you the ball, I won’t have the ball..” (said in my dog voice). Sometimes, when he looks really confused, I just snatch if from him. Often, after a few catches, he will get frustrated and just go sit down and think for a while.

In a way, it reminds me of my relationship with God. He invites me to play ball – an adventure if you will. I approach, but I have trouble dropping the ball in front of him. Like Winston, I get confused. “How can I give God everything and still keep it.” “How can I submit, but keep some control.” As far as I know, God does not snatch things out of our hands – he just patiently waits – listens to us complain about not having joy – even let us complain that God won’t play ball with us. Adventure requires trust and vulnerability – it requires letting go!